Windris and Dune One-Shot: Up in the Air
Main Character pages (I might need to update them a bit) https://sonicfanchara.fandom.com/wiki/Windris_The_Lynx_(reboot) https://sonicfanchara.fandom.com/wiki/Dune_the_Fennec Chapter 1 Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep . . . I groaned and covered my head with a pillow, trying to drown out the noise. For a moment I thought I was in my cozy castle bedroom, but then I remembered where I was and bolted upright. I blinked to adjust my vision before looking down at my clock. “6:00 AM” Why did I have to wake so early? Although I suppose in this place you never know what’s going to happen. But still, why now? The clock was still beeping incessantly, so I picked it up and started looking for a way to shut it up. I’ve never had a beeping clock before; back when I was living in the castle usually a servant would wake me up, and they knew when to shut up. I finally found a switch and turned the clock off. The room I was living in was small, grey and quite drab, with metal walls and a small window that let in a little of the dawning light. A small screen next to my bed flickered with the message,” Head to the meeting room, 6:30.”I got out of bed and looked into the mirror on the right side of my room. I had probably moved around a lot in my sleep because now I had an old-fashioned bedhead. My hair was strewn all over the place like a plate of spaghetti, so I got a comb from the wardrobe and smoothed out the knots, before applying some hair gel to keep my bangs in one piece. I turned to the door. The occupant of the next room, my dear friend Dune, was probably sleeping soundly. I didn’t know if it was just me that had to go, or if the message concerned him too, so I decided to go check on him. After all, I was his friend, and if he wasn’t looking out for himself, I would be a good friend and look out for him. I knocked on his door, but after a minute of not answering I busted it down with a gust of wind (I probably shouldn’t have done that). His room was a mess, as usual, having clothes flopped around the wardrobe and pillows and sheets on the floor. Dune was still in bed, but at the sound of his door falling he squinted drowsily at it and mumbled, “Go bother me in an hour . . .” before drifting back to sleep again. I glanced at the screen beside his bed and it read the same message as mine. “Uhhhh, Dune? I think you should probably-” “I’ll clean up later.” I agreed that he probably should clean up, his room was a mess after all. But that wasn’t important now, so I pressed on. “Yeah I know Dune, but you really need to wake up right now, we have a mission together!” I yelled desperately. The reply I got was not what I expected. “Ohhhhh, you’re not the janitor. Sorry about that.” He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. “Windris . . ? Why are you here?” I stared bemusedly at him before replying. “I came to wake you up. We have to go to the meeting room together.” “Meeting room?” He obviously wasn’t awake yet. “Just...look at the monitor beside you.” Dune looked at the monitor and realization hit his face. “Okay,” he sighed heartily, ”let’s get this over with. If you don’t mind leaving my room for five minutes. I got stuff ta do!” “Sure,” I answered. I turned to the door. “By the way,” I asked, “don’t you have one of those beeping clock thingies too?” Dune was itching his ear with his foot. “Oh no, I threw it out the window on the first day.” he blurted without a shred of remorse.“It was kind of bugging me, so I guess my reflexes acted up.” I turned my attention to the window. And sure enough, the window with a small, rectangular hole in it. I facepalmed. “Alright,” I sighed, “I’ll leave you to it.” I didn’t know what he was going to do afterwards, but I had my own matters to attend to. I left his room and returned to my own, where I changed from my fluffy pyjamas into a more practical bodysuit. I slipped on a pair of aviator goggles, as well as high boots and gloves, and I was ready to go. This outfit is called the ‘Battle Ready Outfit’, or at least that what Tails said when he gave it for me. The leader of the Freedom Fighters, Sally Acorn, suggested I bring it with me when I came to Freedom HQ. I pursed my lips as I recalled the events of a few days ago, but then the clock stole my eye. “6:20 AM”. I had to get moving. I skidded out the door, locked it swiftly, and started down the hallway. I considered going the common bathroom to brush my fangs, but ultimately decided against it; I was already running late as it was! Halfway through I spotted Dune running behind me, so I slowed down to chat with him. He was still wearing his signature red bandanna, but it was contrasted with a short, cerulean cape. Like myself, he was also wearing a bodysuit, but at the hips, it turned into a pair of knee-long jeans, coloured the same cerulean as his cape. “Glad to see you decided not to sleep it off,” I said with a smile, “I was beginning to get scared that I would have to convince you to get out of bed.” “I really was gonna go back to sleep after I sorted out my hair, but I couldn’t stand looking at my room anymore. So I left. And at this point, you’re probably the only person I want to be told off by.” I looked at him, puzzled. “That was a compliment.” He responded dryly “Oh right,” I answered while rubbing my head nervously. I really didn’t get that it was a compliment, at least by the tone of his voice. “Nice outfit, by the way.” Dune returned my confused looks, “Thought you would say that. This outfit...it’s pragmatic, he said while fidgeting with his bandanna, “and I like the colours too, since it’s not rainbow vomit, but I don’t know about it being nice.” He began to scratch his back quite hard. I chuckled softly. “You’ll get used to it, sand boy. Sooner or later you’re gonna have to start wearing a shirt, and personally I think you look way more handsome in one.” I teased. I received an annoyed look from him in return, but I noticed a slight rosy tint had graced his cheeks. Eventually, we passed a clock in this eternal hallway. It read 6:27. “Shoot! We aren’t gonna make it.” I exclaimed. I turned to my friend, who was grinning slyly. A tendril of sand intruded my view of him, followed by a few more, and soon enough the tendrils were spiralling around him and he started to accelerate. “What are you doing!?” I half-yelled. “Speeding up!” he chirped, “Last one to the meeting room is a rotten egg!” His enthusiasm is so cute! I slowed down and felt myself beginning to smile. Once I came to a halt, I stood there with closed eyes as my wings spread and a breeze built up in my hands; if I wanted to catch up with Dune I’d better start with a bang. Then I leapt; my wings poised ready to catch the wind emanating from the rest of my body, and shot forward at incredible speed. Chapter 2 By the time we entered the meeting room we were breathless and sweaty, but bursting with laughter. Sally, who was chatting with Sonic and Tails, noticed me and stood up. “Windris, glad to see you’re here in such a cheery mood.” I was still busy trying to stop laughing. I heard Dune behind me utterly failing to contain his hysterical fits of amusement. When I had calmed down enough to speak, I realized I hadn’t answered her. “Yeah, uhh good morning to you too.” I gingerly took a seat and began to yawn. “Sorry for having you up so early.” she rubbed her cheek with the end of her palm, “I was only told about this sighting early this morning; I suppose you never do really know when things’ll happen.” “Yeah no kidding” Dune burst in, “I could have slept for another hour or two.” He put his feet on the table, “Whatever you’re planning, I just hope it’s fun, else I’m outta here!” I was about to tell Dune to get his feet off the table, but Sally gave me glance that read ‘Don’t. This is fine.’ Sally turned to my fennec friend. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see. But now on to the subject of our meeting” She pulled up a picture of a large, whale-like airship, “Eggman has recently upgraded the Egg Carrier and is using it to terrorize any town he comes across in a beeline towards Freedom HQ.” I didn’t have any clue as to why Eggman would go around nuking towns, but if it’s really as bad as Sally says, that’s enough reason to end such a destructive warship. But a guy like Eggman must have a reason why, right? “This upgraded version, dubbed the Egg Carrier 2.0, seems to have its strength lie in protection. Its armour is impenetrable to even Sonic’s attacks, and there doesn’t seem to be any visible weak points or entrances except for one, which is in the posterior.” I heard Dune try and stifle a giggle, but it clearly wasn’t working since he was still infected with laughter. Sally didn’t notice, however. “Not to mention Eggman has also gotten a hold of one of the Chaos Emeralds. But we are STILL going to take this thing down Freedom Fighters! We would have tried to stop it earlier but we needed the right people, and that’s why I recruited both of you.” That seems to have explained how I got here quite well. I was actually beginning to feel excited about this mission, like, I couldn’t believe I would be so crucial to anything! I suppose Dune wasn’t feeling the same way, as his fists were placed on his chin and his eyes started to droop a little. “The plan is quite simple: Me, Windris and Tails will distract Eggman in the front so Sonic and Dune can get to the back. Sonic will try to destroy any backup power sources and artillery cannons, which will hopefully cause a blackout in the security system and allow the deploy hatch to slide open so Dune can get in. Once there, he’ll go to the room where the Chaos Emerald is stored, under the cockpit, steal it, plant a bomb in the ship and get out of there, preferably the way he came, before the ship blows up.” Dune’s face immediately lit up. “Any questions?” Sally asked. Both of our hands flew up simultaneously. “Why me?” we both said. I was a bit surprised that we both had the same question, but it didn’t take long for Sally to answer. “Windris, I’ve heard that you’re an expert aerial fighter, having wings and all.” “Well, I…” I was fumbling for the words to explain, “that might have been a little exaggerated, but I suppose you can call me that.” I trailed off. “And Dune. Well, you probably already know this, but you can steal stuff.” “Of course I know that” Dune responded smugly. His face turned narrow, “But why not get someone like Rouge instead; she can steal AND fly!” I nodded my head silently. That was actually a very smart question. Sally furrowed her brow. “I get your point.” She said carefully, “Rouge can fly, but she’s about Windris’ size, and the deploy hatch is pretty small. You’re the only one short enough to fit in there and know what you're doing, so naturally, you know where the choice went.” “Thanks a lot…” Dune mumbled. “I’ve heard the whole thing now, so can I leave?” He asked impatiently. “Yes, you can.” Sally confirmed.“We’re going to be using our Extreme Gear for this mission, so make sure yours is charged. Also, we’ll start again at 7:15. That’s all.” She turned to leave. I observed the clock. 6:45. I had around half an hour to prepare, and since I didn’t have an extreme gear, that gave me an extra five minutes that Dune didn’t have. Dune got up from his seat. “Where are you headed Windris?” “Probably to the bathroom to get myself sorted, but I might grab breakfast too if I still have time.” I beamed “Weeell” Dune raised an eyebrow and smiled at me, “I’ll probably need to get my door fixed.” My ears drooped in embarrassment.“S-Sorry about that.” I stuttered, “I had barely woken up as well.” “No problem, I would’ve given any chance to bust down someone’s door in your situation.” It was weird assurance, but it held up. “I won’t keep you any longer!” he said before rushing off. First I decided to brush my fangs as I’d planned earlier. The bathroom was in the middle of that endlessly long hallway, but with my wings, it was easy to traverse. The bathroom’s sinks, lockers and shower stalls were all in one place, but the actual toilets were segregated for obvious reasons. I found the locker with my toiletries in it, grabbed a toothbrush and started brushing. It didn’t take long to get the kinks out of my back molars, and I even brushed my tongue just for the fun of it. I eyed the clock outside the bathroom. 6:55. I had 20 minutes to get breakfast, which is good, because I eat like a sloth. Luckily, the dining room was very close to the bathroom. Instead of a buffet setup like I expected, it was more like a normal kitchen you’d find in a house, except bigger. It had stoves and utensils, fridges and pantries with ingredients in them, and a few cafeteria tables. I made canned tuna and scrambled egg on a piece of toast with a glass of chocolate milk. Dune came in shortly chewing on a large piece of kibble. He eyed at my toast intently, to which I responded by pointing to the counter full of my leftover ingredients. Dune groaned, then trudged to the counter to help himself. Somehow, we had gotten used to this silent communication. Once I had finished my toast, I stole another glance at the clock. 7:08. Dune was busily making a mess of the kitchen, and I figured he had it alright for now. I started towards the meeting room again. I had gone a sizable distance when I noticed Dune following with his extreme gear. I gave him a small grin as he started to catch up with me. When we returned to the meeting room (early this time), Sally was there putting on her equipment. “We’re ready” I called, drawing her attention. “That’s great. You all remember the plan right?” I was about to affirm that, but right then Sonic sped in riding his gear, which caused a whirlwind. “I’m primed and ready, Sal!” He looked over at my dishevelled self. “Ooooh, sorry about that,” he replied in a snarky tone. “Oh no, it’s okay.” I straightened my bangs again, “Nice to see you Sonic.” “We’ve met before right? I think your name was something like wi…win... wind something?” “Windris” I corrected him. “Oh yeah...Nice to meet you too Windris.” He looked past me at Dune. “Who’s that?” “That’s my friend Dune,” I responded placidly. “He’ll be working with you.” Sally reminded him. “I know. He’s kinda short isn’t he.” Sonic remarked. Dune sent him back a mildly irritated look. A few seconds later Tails stumbled in. “Again with this… Sonic you should wait up” he panted. I looked at him with a twinge of pity. “Hi Miles.” I greeted him. “Were you okay back there?” He smiled back at me. “I’m fine. Sonic can be a little hot-headed sometimes, that’s all.” “Well, buddy” Sonic retorted, “at least it worked.” “But be more careful next time!” Tails explained. I suppose even best friends have arguments. Dune and I were no exception. “Miles, I can’t wait to see how you fare in aerial combat,” I said, changing the subject. I was actually getting a little hyped for this thing. “Maybe you can teach me to fly!” He grinned. I smiled cheerily back at him; the prospect of that sounded really fun. “Speaking of which,” Sally cut in, “Have you got the Tornado ready?” “It’s good to go!” he replied enthusiastically. “Then we should be ready.” she continued. “One more thing.” She tossed a small device in Dune’s direction, which he caught with a sand claw. “What’s this?” “It’s a modified Eggman Bombom that’s been set for ten minutes. It’ll start the countdown when you stick it to a solid surface.” “Like my armpit?” Dune joked. I mentally facepalmed. Sally cringed a little. “It sticks magnetically,” she replied sharply. “Yeah okay.” Dune brushed it off. “Well Freedom Fighters, are we all ready?” “YEAH!” Our shout resounded across the room. “Then let’s go!” (Hey if you've gotten here, thank you so much right now. You should go take a break and continue this later if you want to. If not, then keep reading. Also last thing; this story is switching POV from Windris to Dune. Happy reading!) Chapter 3 We rose higher in the air, and I began to feel more awake once I had the lovely wind on my face. I had never felt so free and… up in the air; normally Windris wouldn’t dare to go as high as this! I stretched and eased into my gear for a little while, before we passed an outlying layer of clouds and that Egg-Whale thing came into view. It was a lot heckin’ larger than I expected it to be, but hey; that just meant more fun. I looked over at Windris; I could see that she was pretty surprised too by the look in her eyes. “There it is, sailing around like everything’s fine and dandy,” I mumbled contently. Windris caught on to what I was saying. “It doesn’t even know we’re here.” she began, “And when we get to it-” “We’re bringing the thunder!” I cheered loudly. I couldn’t help being excited, even if it was a bit childish. Windris giggled in response. “Here you are amping yourself up to fight, when really you won’t be fighting at all.” It wasn’t going to hurt if I hype myself up a little. BESIDES, I would be the one doing the important stuff; everyone else would simply be setting up the scene for ME to be the hero! I started fantasising about the aftermath of my daring expedition; me receiving praise and cheers for single-handedly taking down the giant ship against impossible odds, and I pulled it off with enough ease and style, maybe then Windris might... “We’re getting close team,” I was abruptly pulled out of my daydream. “Everyone, prepare to split into your groups.” I do suppose I should’ve concentrated, I didn’t want to count my chickens before they hatched. “I guess we’ll have to part for now, Dune” Windris said softly, “Good luck.” “Yeah, yeah you too…” I responded dreamily. I mentally slapped myself in the face. What was that?!? Windris always sounds like she means it when she talks to me, and here I was being a lovestruck butthurt! I didn’t have any more time to think about that stuff, so I swerved right and diverted my attention to the giant airship. Up close it looked a lot more intimidating, the sides lined with spikes and the occasional turret, which wasn’t a big deal. It definitely had that ‘armoured’ look Sally was talking about. Sonic, who I hadn’t noticed until now, started trying to talk to me. “Man this weather’s a real bummer. I don’t really see how the Egg Carrier could be so much of a threat now, being so slow.” He yawned and put his hands behind his back. “What’d you think earsie; CAN we turn this thing into scrap metal before lunchtime?” He challenged. Earsie? Really? I hoped that nickname wouldn’t stick. Was Sonic taunting me? I looked back at the airship’s hull; now that I thought about it, some friendly competition would make things a little interesting. “You bet!” I dared, “So why don’t we get ourselves a head start; whoever busts the most turrets wins!” Sonic slammed his fists together and smirked, “Challenge accepted.” A grey, fervent blur flew by us. Missiles! The missile launchers must have sensed my overconfidence. I snapped forward to see a whole troupe of them blasting towards me, so I veered left to avoid them. Sonic, however, didn’t break a sweat. He simply jumped off his gear and homing attacked all of them. “That’s five points for me!” he bragged as he landed back on his gear. “Oh, I’m not even started yet,” I retorted. I tilted upwards towards a set of artillery cannons and took them out at the stems using a sand blade. Sonic had joined me near the airship’s roof. “We’re even now!” I told him. Sonic destroyed a few cannonballs that I hadn’t seen coming. “And now the party’s really started,” he added. We continued in this manner for some time, sometimes watching each other’s back, and other times in fierce rivalry. It didn’t really feel like a full competition to me, but it was a lot better this way, and I highly doubt the rest of the team wanted to see us fighting each other. When we neared the rear of the airship, I had racked up 52 points and Sonic had 54. “There doesn’t seem to be any more canons or turrets for miles,” Sonic mused. “I guess that means it’s...over,” I said, “Let’s focus here; Sally mentioned a power source of some kind that we had to destroy.” No sooner had I said that, I spotted a strange battery-type thing attached to a giant bulb. “Well speak of the devil,” Sonic commented, “I’ll take care of that if ya don’t mind.” He swiftly spin-dashed into it. I heard a buzz go off in the entire ship, and when Sonic landed back on his gear, he smelled a little burnt. “Should probably get down there,” I said. Sonic gave me a thumbs up. When I came to the underside of the ship, there was the deploy hatch with the door swinging open loosely. I had expected it to be sideways, not upside down, but it wasn’t much to fret about. “Good game” Sonic commended, “but the real mission starts now, so give it your all.” Great encouragement, but I already had enough confidence to last me a week. “You’ll take care of my gear won’t you?” I asked as I scrambled up the hatch. “Yep, that one’s on me earsie!” I heard him through the hatch. “And one more thing” I stuck my head back out the hole, “Don’t call me that.” I sassed. Chapter 4 The hatch closed behind me as I observed the room. It looked dark and silent, but I suppose all of the rooms would be dark and silent now that the power’s off. I also noticed the giant ramp with lanes in front of me that I had to make my way up. That didn’t sound very fun, but as they say, patience makes perfect. I groaned and started up the ramp. Halfway up I noticed the walls had a built in piston launching system. On top of it was a stack of huge metallic orbs with grooves running through them; it almost looked like a little automatic bowling rack. But I just kept walking, this ramp wasn’t gonna climb itself. The stack continued until I got to the top where the lanes trailed out and down where I just came from. I took note of the lever placed on the left side of the ramp; it was probably going to come in handy later. Beside those two details, all I found when I got to the top was a dead end. Luckily there was a conveniently placed large air vent here; I guess Eggman really wanted to keep this place cool as well. He probably should have checked that, but I wasn’t about to point out a villain’s mistakes, especially ones that gave me advantages. I used a prehensile sand claw to undo the bolts, removed the cover and climbed in. I pulled my bandanna over my face to avoid coughing from the dust. I didn’t want to stay here for long; the air here was stuffy and seemed to suck the life right out of me. Eventually I came across another exit. I cut through the cover with some sand this time and slipped out. The vent cover hit the floor with a clang; I probably should’ve been more careful. This time, the room was filled from top to bottom with weapons, ranging from nukes to replacement arm cannons and mechanical lances. I was a bit tempted to touch something, but that probably would have set off something, so I moved on. Next I came across a long grey hallway. There were little holes scattered in the wall that were obviously made to spout security laser, but they weren’t. This hallway isn’t nearly as endless as Freedom HQ’s and I have all the time in the world. That’s what went through my head as I casually strolled through the metallic passage. But boy was I wrong. As I began to take another step, I saw the lights flicker on, and soon the hallway was covered with thin red lights. I froze in place. I had no idea that the electricity source was so resilient! This situation had just gotten ten times worse, but at least I was still safe; I hadn’t screwed up yet. I slowly retracted my foot and started to plan the best possible course of action. I was pretty good at jumping, and some of the barriers included wall-jumping too, which I wasn’t bad at, but if I wanted to maximise my chance of success, it would do not to have any parts of me sticking out; streamline myself to say it shortly. I slowly and carefully wrapped my tail around my body and pressed my ears down flat. Then I started jumping, taking extra care at aiming my bursts into the air. It all went by real quickly; I was completely focused on the endless stream of laser configurations, and my mind was in a state of half concentration and half stress. When I finally landed, I nearly collapsed on the ground to take a breather. The remaining rooms and the rest of this hallway weren’t gonna be just a walk in the park. There was door blocking my way, and through the crack I could see a myriad of egg-shaped robots aimlessly wandering the hallways and even bumping into each other at times. I thought about quickly destroying them; they didn’t seem very organised or much of a threat. Nah, they’ll just bring in more of themselves, or sound off some other dreaded alarm. This is a stealth mission, not an extermination, I thought. I opened the door quickly and jumped on the wall to avoid their attention. My heart began to race. Climbing sideways wasn’t an option, so I’d have to wall-jump. It was risky, but I didn’t have any time to think as I slid back down the wall. I positioned myself and pushed against the wall, which landed me on the other side. One jump after the other; this place was really testing my limits. I had made about seven jumps when I looked up and saw the door ahead of me...and there I lost my footing. I began spinning as I fell and landed head first at the end of the hallway. The door closed behind me, barely missing my tail in the process. I stood up coughing and brushed myself off a little. I was beginning to regret accepting this mission, and I hoped the next room wouldn’t be full of death traps. Fortunately, the next room was pleasantly lit and actually quite nice. Finally a reward for all this risk-taking! It looked more like one of those fancy dance halls that I’ve never been to, but it was about the size of a lounge room. I was really appreciating the interior decorations here: glass lamps; tasseled cushions; long, comfy couches; a giant chandelier; even if the room didn’t have any windows, it still retains a relaxing atmosphere. There were even stairs leading to what I could only assume was Eggman’s bedroom, but I didn’t want to go there. I could have stayed here forever, wondering how Eggman managed to make this stuff stay put in a moving airship, but I couldn’t waste time (Now that I think about it, going to Eggman’s bedroom sounds gross!) The exit to the lounge led to another small passageway but it was way shorter than the last one. At last I had gotten to the room I was looking for. The chaos emerald was just laying there in the middle of the room, surrounded by glass. Eggman’s voice boomed faintly through the roof; seems like the rest of the team was doing a great job distracting him. There weren’t any security cameras, nothing; it almost seemed to easy. I remembered that small bomb that I had, pulled it out of my pocket, and stuck it on a nearby wall. It was timed for ten minutes, but I would be out of here in a tee. I tiptoed towards the glass tube, keeping my eyes on my feet to spot any buried mines or booby traps, but there were none. I unfastened the tube with sand and carefully removed it; still nothing. I pinched the emerald from its stand and caressed it a little. M''aybe I had finally done it; no traps, nothing to stop me now! The only thing I need to worry about is making the escape dramatic and eye-catching, so why don’t I kill some time as I wait for the timer to hit three minutes.'' When I ambled back to the lounge, all of the doors simultaneously closed around me. I was taken aback; Eggman was a sneaky genius after all. Alarms would have made it too obvious that I was in danger, so getting rid of them was really smart. I would give some credit where it was due, but it did mean I was stuck in a room with the exits blocked, no windows, and about to be blown up in eight minutes. And if not to add to the equation, the egg-shaped robots from the hallway decided to drop in. Waves of them. I fought them by jamming their systems with sand. When they were defeated, they would always explode and leave burn marks on the carpet. The fight seemed like forever to me; busting up robots always to find the next wave primed and ready. I even had to kick a few away since I didn’t have time to sand them all, which knocked over a lot of the furnishings. When it was finally over, the carpet lining the floor was practically disintegrated, and the whole area was a mess. I started plotting a way to escape. There aren’t any windows here, and the doors are probably too strong to bust through. I put my ear to the floor. I could hear a breeze beneath it, so it probably meant it was hollow. I could probably drill a hole in the floor with sand. It was a brilliant idea, and the best one I could come up with! I looked in my pouch. No sand. A feeling of anxiety immediately pervaded me. I stared down at the carpet where the robots had been. Of course there wouldn’t be anything left; when they exploded they left nothing behind. I clasped my head and screwed my eyes shut. Dang it! Dune, why!? Why did you waste your time like this!?! NOW look what you’ve done; you’re only form of escape is gone. These words flooded my head over and over again, charged with anger and regret. What had I done? I HAD screwed up; if I hadn’t fought those robots, none of this would have happened. It was my fault, and here I was to lose my life as a consequence. “I’m going to die…” I tearfully whispered. I curled into the corner, just regretting. I’ve failed. What was the rest of the team going think after I'm gone? Sally, Tails, Sonic; they would have all been devastated. And Windris most of all...I never got to tell her how I feel. Why did I even go here in the first place? Why did it have to end like this? I heard four beeps from the bomb device in the next room; a sign that it only had one minute to detonation. I already felt resigned to my fate. As I searched my last remaining memories of the people I’ve known, something flashed in my mind. “The real mission starts now, so give it your all!” “Don’t let me down.” Both of their voices resonated in my mind. I slowly opened my eyes again, and then it hit me. What am I doing here? Sitting in a corner and crying won’t solve anything. Those words reminded me; I wasn’t about to let anyone down, especially by dying! I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood up, scanning the room. All of the furnishings were knocked down, so there were bits of debris all over the floor. The chandelier was still hanging soundly, and there wasn’t any chance of getting it down. I rubbed my temples. What would my grandfather do in this situation, or, more importantly, what would Windris do in my situation? Probably something creative; she always wants to put her powers to their limit. I admired her a little for that trait, but what good was that going to do me if I had nothing to control? I again heard beeps coming from the next room over. Thirty seconds. I didn’t have much time left, so I tried to search the rubble for anything sharp. Then my eye fell upon the shattered glass. My analytical side immediately got into action. Glass is made of sand, right? Obviously, it was hinting at something. I couldn’t believe what I was thinking; manipulating quicksand was hard enough, how could I even attempt manipulating glass!?! I stared at the scattered mess of shards among the rubble. It seemed impossible. Would Windris want me to do this? I pictured her coaxing me on with her usual cheery self. Maybe it wasn’t so impossible after all; even if it failed I had to give it a shot. My drilling plan still had a chance of working I lifted my hand at the broken glass and focused. It seemed to hurt, so I shut my eyes to deal with the pain. But surprisingly, the crystalline pieces quivered and began to float. Eureka! It worked. I had to work quickly before I lost control, so I moulded the pile of shards into a pointed shaped and slammed it onto the floor. It began to spin. I was almost overjoyed at how much control I had, before my head began to feel a splitting ache. I’d gotten this before when I’d overused my powers, but never one this immobilising. By the halfway mark I started to feel nauseous and my vision blurred. That certainly wasn’t normal. I even began to cough up a little blood. But I had to keep going; it was this, or getting blown to smithereens. My arms were now practically numb, and I felt like I wanted to die, but I was going to make sure that didn’t happen. Eventually the floor split and an explosive ringing echoed in my ears. I was too weak to stand, so I ended up crumbling to the floor until gravity pulled me down the hole. The wind brushed my face as I fell silently. It felt like time itself had stopped, and I felt a breathtaking relief at the prospect of being alive. This was the last time I was ever underestimating Eggman. I smiled. The escape had certainly been dramatic, but not really in the way I wanted. Eggman’s trial had made me push myself to my limits, and I had made it out alive. Suddenly I was grabbed by the legs and hoisted upwards. I looked up to see who it was. Windris’ warm smile came to greet me. One look at my weary, pale face and she immediately knew what I’d been through. “Dune...are you okay? What have you done?” She asked in a worried tone. I smiled weakly in response. I didn’t have the strength to talk. In the distance, I heard the ship exploding. “Hold on,” She reassured me, “I’ll have to get you to the medic.” She started towards the rest of the group. That was fine and all, but being carried upside down was a nauseating experience. I groaned a little as I felt my headache coming back. Luckily, Windris noticed. “Sorry about that. Ummmm, this might be a little rough; please don’t be mad at me Dune.” I had no idea what Windris was going to do, but I didn’t have to wait long to find out. She threw into the air, flipping me over, and then caught me again in her arms. The chaos emerald in my pocket flew out with me, but Windris caught that too. Then she resumed flying back. I knew that, despite the risk, and despite the pain, I would never, ever regret this day...